Pavlo Makov, 63, is the Ukrainian artist long-time chosen to represent his country at the Venice Biennale of Arts. The largest artistic event in the world has just opened and lasts until November. He got there narrowly and his work could be released in a rather incredible way after the start of the war started by Russia.
Pavlo Makov connects the interviews in an ultra fast flow, with this feeling of urgency which does not leave him any more since the beginning of the war. Since the Russian invasion, his family, like many Ukrainian families, has been scattered across Europe. What should have been an honor and a celebration – representing his country at the Venice Art Biennale – turned into a platform for the survival of Ukraine in front of his work entitled Fountain of Exhaustion.
” When I talk about exhaustion, I’m not just talking about politics or our social life, I’m talking about the exhaustion of our relationship to nature. We are talking about war now, but the ice continues to melt in the Far North. »
“Feel things before others”
Her Fountain of Exhaustionmade up of 78 bronze funnels in which the water can no longer flow, arrived in Venice thanks to the determination of one of the curators of the exhibition, who took it across part of Europe in his car.
” The big difference with artists is not that they draw or write better than others, it’s that they think faster. Feeling things before others is the main trait of an artist. Politicians should pay attention to this. It can help. But I am pragmatic. And to help, I send most of my income to Ukraine, to the army, to volunteers, and to my friends there. Our fight is on the front line, not here. »
In the meantime, it’s here in front of the Fountain of Exhaustion signed Pavlo Makov, a sad metaphor for the situation of the world, that the crowd rushes.
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